


The Tourist

by Ononymous



Series: Ferry Requests 2017 [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-15 19:30:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12327381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: Having returned home after their adventure underground and watching their new friends settle in, Frisk is asked by one friend if he can get a better introduction to humanity than last time.





	The Tourist

**Author's Note:**

> Original Request: Frisk shows Asriel around their hometown.

"You mean there's an eighth movie?"

"I guess so. The seventh one came out last year, I didn't think it was that good."

"But Alphys said it was only a trilogy!"

"Well there was a gap between the first three and the next, maybe people didn't throw away their copies of the fourth one yet."

"Oh..."

The two kids stood outside the cinema, marvelling at the options. For Asriel, who had watched and rewatched everything that reached the Underground, sometimes against his will, it was amazing to choose between a dozen movies that he had never heard of before.

"Well maybe I'll watch the other four before that one. How about _Veto: Attack of the Legislative Powergrab_?"

"Asriel, I don't have the money for tickets."

"Oh. Well, I got a few coins from Dad..."

"They won't take pure gold. We'd have to go to a bank, and I don't think they'll give kids the time of day. Even fluffy ones. Besides, I thought you wanted to see my hometown?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

They chuckled. The tour had indeed gone well so far. People's heads turning at Asriel's appearance had been a little intimidating, but it was just curiosity at the novelty of fur and fangs. At Frisk's nudging, they discovered a confident "howdy!" usually dispelled any awkwardness.

"I'm surprised nobody's kicked up a fuss about us yet," mused Asriel after the seventh such greeting. ", well I mean, I know it's only really Mom and Dad and a few others that have moved here so far, but they haven't been low profile."

"Well, it helps that my dad thinks you guys saved me after I fell. He's a big figure in town, people always listened to him."

Asriel raised an eyebrow in scepticism. "You still haven't told him the truth?"

"I did!" said Frisk, brushing hair out of their eyes in irritation. "He still doesn't believe me yet! I think Mom might believe bits and pieces of it, but I think Dad still sees me as just a kid, he can't wrap his head around it all. He thinks Asgore's talk of me being an ambassador is an honorary title."

"And it isn't?"

"No way, I'm helping you all any way I can." They sighed. "I'm not too worried about Dad anyway. If he can have tea with a giant king, he can accept I'm capable of more. It's no big deal. Besides, it's been useful for melting the ice."

"Yeah, I guess." Asriel examined his fingers and flexed them, as if enjoying a half-forgotten novelty. "And he thinks we saved you... golly, he has it backwards."

"I know." Frisk held his hand gently. "No need to dwell on it right now. Let's get on with the tour!"

From the cinema, they drifted to the library. The spelling confused Asriel for a while, being misled by Snowdin. Again, complete mastery of every scrap of text the Underground had to offer didn't leave Asriel with an immediate interest in what there was to read, but when Frisk showed him very different comics than the sort Alphys collected, they actually spent an hour reading them, suppressing giggles and cheers so the librarian didn't scold them. At the end of the hour however, something troubled Asriel.

"This Captain Subjuncture is pretty brave," he said, with a small crease in his brow, "but why does he only ever fight monsters?"

"Oh," whispered Frisk, "I guess I didn't thought about that. I guess most people didn't think monsters exist until a few weeks ago, and plenty still don't. So it's easy to use them as generic opponents. Didn't the Underground ever get copies Captain Subjuncture or the Woman of Binding Arbitration in the trash heap?"

Asriel shrugged. "Nearly all the comics I could find where what Alphys collects. And now I can feel again I _know_ I have different tastes than her. It's a scientific fact."

"Come on, not even Mew Mew Kissy Cutie?"

"Well the second one has some good moments, I guess."

"Oh, don't let her catch you saying that." Frisk let a smirk grow. "She won't care you're a prince."

Asriel wasn't concerned. "Eh, I've heard every version of that argument. Even if, um, she actually hasn't."

Deciding to punt on the issue of monster portrayal, they next went to the museum. Both were especially interested in what it had to say about the time they knew was before the war between monsters and humans. However they turned out to be stymied and intrigued that the tales of kings and lords squabbling seemed to have glaring holes in them, particularly when you knew about the elephant with horns and a penchant for tea in the room. Had monsterkind genuinely fallen out of history, or had there a cover up? Questions for another day.

"I think I know this guy!" Asriel was pointing to an overly colourful portrait of a King with a crooked nose. "King... Joachim! Yeah, Gerson told me about him. The nose is a dead giveaway."

"Really? In school they made him sound like a guy who sat around listening to minstrels and everyone hated him for it. How do monsters know him?"

"Would you believe it, the same thing. Only it was monster entertainers. And Gerson said the Barons were mad at him for it because there was a squabble with the King of Monsters at the time. That would have been my Great Grandfather, King Asnaul. But Joachim was good to us, he said."

Frisk eyed the medieval artifacts and documents that flanked the portrait. "Nothing. Not a single thing that hints at monsters. Weird."

Not really in the mood to uncover a conspiracy, they opted to move on. Neither of them saw a badly worn copper coin, where close examination would have uncovered an almost completely faded Delta Rune.

As the Museum was next door to the Old Town, off they trotted. Through winding streets and countless shops selling the same ten postcards and water for twice the price you'd pay at a supermarket.

"Ha ha, this is like New Home!"

"Well I guess," agreed Frisk reluctantly, "but few people live here, they just work here. It doesn't have much of a soul."

Asriel gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, as something of an expert on that subject, maybe monsters could move in here? They get somewhere familiar to live, and maybe this part becomes more vibrant!"

"Hey, I like that idea. We'll have to talk to Asgore about that. You'll make a good king some day."

After surviving the trek through the Old Town, Frisk having to pull Asriel away from an _au natural_ Renaissance sculpture, they caught the tram that ran from the one station in Old Town. Before long they were making a beeline heading to the outskirts of town, where Frisk's house and the few monsters to settle on the surface were located.

"Hey, that's my school!"

"Really? Looks kinda worn out."

"Yeah. Most schools round here need a bit more investment. Dad's been to city hall about it, but 'tax' is a dirty word there."

"Don't humans want their kids to know stuff?"

"Well yeah, but they don't like paying for it."

"Well that won't do for Mom. She's already been asking how you get qualified as a teacher on the surface. She'll probably get Dad to pay for a whole new building. He's happy to do it, anything to make up for... well."

"You really think she'll build a whole school?"

"With Mom, you do it properly or not at all. She might try to get a job at a human school, but I think she, um, she needs to make it up to monsters, so she'll focus on teaching them.

"If she does get a whole new school, I'm getting Mom and Dad to enrol me in it." Said Frisk.

"Really? Is it bad at your current school?"

"Not really, 'bad''s not the word. It feels like the teachers do the minimum and that's it. I guess they can't afford to do more than that. When your mom was trying to teach me, I felt like I could learn anything. Even if it was mostly about snails."

"And that's the only reason you'd go to mom's school?" said Asriel, a small grin spreading on his muzzle.

"What other reason is there?"

"Come on, Frisk. I..." he played with his ear, "I heard you when I was, you know, more of a green thumb guy. I heard you talk to her on the phone in the Ruins."

A sliver of eye appeared. "Oh, th-that. Well that was how I dealt with a stressful situation. Unexpected friendliness is a great ice breaker."

"Stress relief, sure," smirked Asriel, "maybe the first time. And how many times did you choose that particular form of stress relief?" Frisk started counting on their fingers. "Never mind."

They didn't get off at the school - the gym ropes were not strictly speaking a must-see part of the itinerary - but stayed on the tram until it reached the end of the line. Disembarking, they didn't follow the main street to where their houses were. Instead Frisk led them up a steep and narrow street with a gradual bend to it.

"I come here sometimes after school, or at the weekend. My parents work pretty late, so I'm used to wandering around on my own. It's why they hadn't called the police yet when I turned up with you three in tow."

"That was funny, how your dad was getting mad at you for staying out late, and then you introduced _my_ dad and they shook hands like nothing was amiss."

"Yeah, and Mom wanted to know where Toriel got the material for her robes."

Asriel smiled. "I can see where you get it from. That ability to make friends at the drop of a hat."

Frisk respected that Asriel didn't seem to get tired by the walk. They didn't know if this was how monster stamina worked, or maybe Asriel's unique disposition had a few ancillary benefits to make up for the dark mood swings he was now prone to. A mild one was threatened now, as the trip was threatened not by energy, but boredom.

"How much longer, Frisk? I don't want Mom and Dad to-"

"Here."

The street had suddenly opened up. They were a significant part of the way up the mountain the town had been built at the base of. Mount Ebott formed a significant but not dominant part of the horizon, bathed in the afternoon sun already slipping behind their current mountain. On this plateau, railings had been put up and a park built. It commanded a view of the whole town and the farmland and forests between it and Ebott.

"I've only ever seen other kids here twice." Said Frisk, sitting on the swing. "It's a great place to watch the world go by."

"I didn't think you were the passive type, Frisk." Asriel rested his arms on the railing and drank in the view hungrily. "You were pretty active in the Underground."

"Heh, true. And I like the hustle and bustle of town at the weekend. But I know my limits. If I surrounded myself with everyone all the I'd go crazy. A quiet place of isolation is my safety valve."

"Oh." Asriel's whole frame drooped a little. "I... I'm still afraid to be alone, Frisk. Even in my bedroom at night. Like, if I'm alone too long I'll wake up and can't feel my arms or legs or the love I have for-"

His furry hand was squeezed unexpectedly. Frisk apparently realised what their words had suggested had hurried to make amends. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes at the floral scent carried from a nearby grove.

"Thanks, Frisk."

They watched the shadows grow ever longer for a while, musing on the bond born of determination, but truly forged by compassion, hope and love. Eventually the shadows licked the base of Mount Ebott.

"We better get you home. I don't want Toriel and Asgore to worry."

"I can take care of-"

"Yes, you can. But it's for them, not you."

Asriel frowned, but Frisk knew it was more at himself than anything they had said.

"Do you want to come round to mine for dinner tonight? I can call your mom."

"Thanks Frisk, but it's a bit early, yet. I'm still having dinner in two different houses at the moment, and on top of everything else that's hard to wrap my head around. I don't know if I'm ready for a third. Can it wait for another time?"

"You're missing out on the finest meatloaf, but if you want to snub my hospitality, go ahead." joked Frisk.

Asriel chuckled back. A newborn sense of civic pride instilled by learning about his new home, the two of them set off back down the street. Frisk wondered if they might make a job of this, then thought of Undyne's reaction to everything and decided they didn't want that responsibility. Asriel had half a mind to ask his mother about that statue and what that meant about humans.

**Author's Note:**

> Original Draft: https://pastebin.com/kL6jwLUs
> 
> Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
